Dog psychology 101

First of all, I love dogs and rarely had problems with them on a  
tour...but I've been following a number of tour journals that refers  
to being followed / surrounded by packs of dogs...in Alabama, in  
Nepal, in Georgia...all over  the world.

Any thoughts based on experience to share on what would be the best  
defense strategies to prevent attacks from a pack of aggressive dogs ?

 From my experience / understanding of dogs, my behavior in the advent  
of a threatening situation whilst riding would probably be (of course  
it all depends on the context), get off bike immediately, stay calm,  
walk with a firm pace next to the bike, avoid direct eye contact with  
dogs, speak in a loud affirmative voice, hope that they loose interest  
in me eventually, use pepper spray (yes, the kind made for bears with  
2-3 % capsaicin !) directly in the eyes only if things gets really out  
of control...but I'm sure this strategy could fail miserably in some  
situations...

Thanks for sharing your experience,

Olivier